I've been wanting to do the Great Wall of China for years, so I was pretty excited when the alarm went off! I had two days here to do two different sections of the wall. The first was the Badaling section and it's pretty impressive when you first see it weaving in and out of the hills and valleys for as far as they eye can see. Luckily the two days I was there, it was clear blue sky but with that it was FREEZING cold, about -6 degrees with the wind chill! However, walking up the steep steps warms you up....a bit. It's amazing to think that this wall was built in the 7th Century to protect the enemy and is thousands of miles long. One of the longest remaining parts is the Badaling section of the wall.
A great tip for the Badaling section of the wall is when you walk through the main archway, go right instead of left as the crowds tend to go to that part. You get equally as good views but the wall is far less crowded which makes for a better experience and photo opportunities!
I stayed overnight at the Juyongguan Pass hotel which is literally a few minutes walk from that section of the wall. The hotel was the only one in the area, very cold (no real heating) and quiet as it was out of season. It was quite eerie walking the corridors at night as the place is dark and like an old school/monastery.
The next day I was up early to beat the crowds and to do this section of the wall. Unlike Badaling which is across sweeping hills and valleys, this section crosses over a road and straddles two valleys but is equally impressive. It's divided by a temple looking building as is equally as steep in parts to climb.
The Great Wall is definitely a huge tick off the bucket list for me!
You can see my vlog here.
